On Sept. 12th-13th, Azerbaijani forces launched attacks on positions inside the Republic of Armenia, which was confirmed by NASA shortly after. There was a ceasefire that was brokered on Sept. 13th by the Russian Federation, which was reported to have been broken minutes after it went into effect. On Sept. 14th, Armenia and Azerbaijan brokered another ceasefire. The UN report on Armenia discusses the ceasefire, expressed their support for it, and noted that they held a council meeting on Armenia and Azerbaijan. The council was unwilling to confirm which side the attacks came from.
There were two questions asked by the journalists regarding Armenia and Azerbaijan. The first journalist asked whether or not the UN is planning to “send a delegation to ensure that the ceasefire will be respected.” The UN spokesman did give a straight answer, but did not take further questions on this. They didn’t evade the question, but they did not elaborate much on their answer, rejecting any responsibility to ensure the ceasefire is being respected and giving a textbook answer on why this is not a responsibility the UN is willing to take.
The second journalist asked a question regarding whether or not there are still ongoing hostilities at this time. The spokesman evaded the question somewhat, simply just restating what they had already said. This could be because they are genuinely unaware of the state of the fighting, but they did also evade the second part of the question, which asked about active efforts to ensure peace on the ground, referencing the answer they gave to the first journalist and saying, “I think that’s information you should get from the parties themselves.”
For this semester’s beat, I’ve chosen to focus on Armenia — a small landlocked country in the Middle East, bordering Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia — and the corresponding immigrant diasporic community in New York.
Has the country been in the news lately? If so, for what?
Yes, it’s been on the news lately regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, though most of the reporting of this comes from international, primarily Middle Eastern publications. About a month ago there was a firework explosion in the Surmalu shopping center, which made it to a lot of major news publications.
How many live in the US? In the tristate area? How many are in the international diaspora? How many in the home country?
Home Country – 2.963 million US – 1.5 million to 2 million International Diaspora – approximately 9 million Tri-State Area – 150,000
In the tristate area, where do they live?
Though today the most notable Armenian community in the US is in California, in the early 20th century, New York and Massachusetts were the top destinations for Armenian immigrants. The area between East 20th Street, Lexington Avenue, and First Avenue was called “Little Armenia” until the 1960. Now, Queens is where the majority of Armenian New Yorkers live, with an estimate of 50,000, compared to the estimate of 10,000 in Manhattan, where Armenian populations are concentrated in Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, and Murray Hill where the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral is located.
Boston and its neighboring cities harbor the second largest Armenian community in the US. The Armenian Heritage Park, dedicated to the victims of the genocide, was opened in downtown Boston on May 22, 2012. The Armenian Library and Museum of America is located in Belmont and aims to be a center for Armenian Studies research.
Philadelphia and Providence also harbor a significant Armenian population, and another notable mention includes Portland, Maine, where the Armenian community was founded in 1896 and is currently represented by the Armenian Cultural Association of Maine.
What types of jobs do a significant percentage of them have?
Not Available Information
Why did they come to New York/the US? When?
There were a few waves of Armenian immigration to the US, all caused by varying reasons. In the early and mid 19th century the persecution of Christian minorities under Ottoman rule combined with American missionary activities became the first small wave of Armenian migration to the US from Cilicia and Western Armenia. In the late 19th century, after the Hamidian Massacres of 1894-1896 there was a much more notable migration wave. Turkish Armenian migration rose steadily from late 19th century into early 20th century as the situation became progressively more hostile in the Ottoman Empire (Adana Massacre of 1909, Balkan Wars of 1912-1913). Before the genocide or 1915, there was an estimate of 60,000 Armenians in the US, but the genocide surely causes the most prominent formation of the Armenian diaspora and one of the biggest immigration waves.
Moving through the 20th century, a new wave of Armenian immigration began in the 1940s after WWII. The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 allowed people who were displaced during the war to immigrate to America between 1944 and 1952, and upwards of 5,000 Armenians moved to the US at the time with the help of the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians. This was followed by a much bigger migration wave after the passing of the Immigration and Nationality Act or 1965 which abolished national origins quotas. Armenians from Soviet Union, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries flocked to the US.
In the late 20th century, the 1988 Armenian earthquake in Spitak, the energy crisis brought on by the fall of the USSR in 1992, and the first Nagorno-Karabakh War caused approximately 700,000 Armenians to leave the country, moving primarily to Russia, Europe, and the US.
What are some major organizations/advocacy groups/resources in this community?
Armenian Assembly of America Armenian National Committee of America Armenian-American Action Network Armenian Educational Foundation Armenian Relief Society Ararat-Eskijian Museum Society for Armenian Studies Armenian National Institute Armenian Cultural Foundation Hamazkayin
Do they have local media house/s? If so, list them.
168 Hours; Aravot; Armenian Times; Armenian Weekly; AZG Daily; Aztag; The California Courier; Civilnet; Golos Armenii; Hetq; Novo Vremia; Oraterts; Tert; Zhamanak Daily; Asbarez; Haytoug; Hye Sharzhoom
List/link the major media houses in the home country. Are they reliable? What is the press landscape like there?
ArmenPress is the only state-owned news agency. There are eight private agencies: Shant, Noyan Tapan, Arminfo, Arka, Mediamax, PanArmenian, News-Armenia and Photolur.
The Constitution of Armenia guarantees freedom of speech, but media freedom is still restricted. Journalists often face threats of violence and publications have strong political interference, though press freedoms have improved considerably since the Velvet Revolution of 2018. Armenia ranks 51st in the 2022 Press Freedom Index report made by Reporters Without Borders, considerably high for the region.
How strong are relationships with the home country? How significant are remittances to the home country’s economy?
It depends on when the diaspora was established. The diaspora in California which was established more recently has a much stronger connection to the homeland. On the other hand, Western Armenians whose families have been here for generations in the Northeast will struggle to maintain closer ties. However, the generational trauma and the war back home does bring people closer and push them to build connections with the homeland. In the recent years there’s been a wave of immigration back to Armenia to help with the war crisis.
In the homeland what is the GDP per capita? Where does that rank in the world? What are the major industries?
4,267.45 USD (2020) per capita Armenia is number 136 in the ranking of GDP of the 196 UN recognized countries.
Major Industries – brandy, mining, diamond processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging and pressing machines, electric motors, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry, software, food processing
What is the system of government? When did this system come into place? Was there a colonial power? (Or was it the colonial power?)
Parliamentary Democracy Constitution adopted in 1995; Established Armenia as a democratic, sovereign, social, and constitutional state.
Previously a Soviet Republic Previously Russian Armenia Previously Ottoman Armenia
Name of the NY consul general. How long has he/she been in the role?
Couldn’t find information.
Link to three news stories that have been published about the immigrant community in New York.
Are there any restaurants, bars, small businesses etc. that are owned/frequented by members of the immigrant community? Are there any other informal community spaces you can identify in the city?
Hi Food Café Balade (Lebanese) Sevan Restaurant and Catering Sevan Market Lilya’s Restaurant & Grill Café Gourmand Baruir’s Coffee Brooklyn Bread House Krichian’s Grill & Bistro
Give three potential story ideas. (Doesn’t need to be a fully fleshed-out pitch yet, but should be well thought-out.)
A story centering around the exploration of Armenian identity and where it fits in in American racial and ethnic categorization. I want to specifically explore what it’s like for the diaspora to exist in a country that places such great value on ethnic and racial categories while not fully fitting into the conception of any of the made-up races.
I’d like to profile the Armenian Society of New York, considering they recently had their 50th anniversary, I feel like it would be a good time to create this profile.
Lastly, I’d like to work on a story centering around something that has to do with the Western Armenian experience in the diaspora and how it differs from the Eastern Armenian experience. Furthermore, I’d like to look into how strong the ties that Western Armenians hold with the homeland are.
The beat I’ve chosen for this semester is Armenia. My parents and I moved from there 8 years ago, and since then I’ve struggled to connect with the diaspora here. There is barely any conversation around Armenia, what’s going on in the country, and what’s going on with the diaspora in New York, but there is a community here regardless, and I want to familiarize myself with it and write things that will be specifically for the Armenians in New York. In terms of the stuff actually going on in the country, I want to deliver some much needed reporting on the Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh conflict. At the height of the conflict in 2020, there were Armenian protests all over New York demanding for more media coverage. The feeling of knowing that tomorrow your country could disappear off the map and nobody around you would bat an eye is absolutely nauseating, and that feeling is what drives me to pursue this topic. Of course there’s other things to be reported on in Armenia, but I think amongst the concerning lack of coverage of the war, this is what I am most interested in exploring this semester.